One Whole Year!

This week Miss Alex turned one.  It's an odd mix of feeling like she's been here forever and holy crap it can't have been a year already!  

So where is she at after one year?  She's been crawling for just over a month but still won't roll from back to tummy, which makes nappy changes much easier - the worst she'll do is scoot across the floor on her back.  She's done plenty of teething but none have cut through.  She high-fives and claps, but won't wave goodbye.  She dances to her favourite tunes which is entirely adorable.  She is very talkative - mum, dad, teda (teddy) - but her current favourite sound is "dudn".  If she pulls my hair and I say "ow!" she says it back to me, usually with a grin...I try not to read too much into that.  

Just like when she was six months old, here are photos from the last six months..

Seven months...

Eight months...

Nine months...

10 months...

11 months...

12 months!

And just for good measure, here are some photos of her opening presents this week.  As you can see, opening presents is serious business.

She's got a bit of a mullet going on, so next on her to-do list are haircut, cutting some teeth and walking.  Though that would make her a real toddler, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that!     

The One-Year-Old's Guide to iPhone Apps

As predicted, Alex is well on her way to becoming a little nerd.  She knows what the home button on an iPhone does, that if you hold it down for a long time the icons start jiggling ready to be rearranged or deleted - and that mum loves playing Find the Icon.  She knows how to call my voicemail and hang up on her grandmother while video chatting (the folk at Skype need to make the end call button less big, red and enticing).

She has also spent a fair amount of time stickying up my iPhone reviewing the best apps.  Seeing as my phone has been confiscated for research purposes...

...I thought I'd type up a quick review of her favourites while I wait for her to give it back.

Talking Tom Cat 2 (free)

You talk at the phone and he repeats what you just said - highly amusing!  Does other stuff too (purrs if you pat his belly etc) but she cares not for those features.

Talking Cat ($1.29)

Moves its mouth in time with you talking.  Also:  it's a kitty!!!

Awesome Xylophone (free)

Best one ever!  Doesn't have a pesky info button on the screen, so she can't get onto a settings page or anything.  This was great until she figured out the home button.

Simon's Cat in 'Purrfect Pitch' ($1.29)

Alex enjoys the "free play" part of the game, which has a little keyboard at the bottom of the screen, excellent for mashing to make Simon's Cat meow.  She also likes watching his YouTube videos, but you're not meant to let babies watch TV...  *shifty eyes*

Bubbles ($1.29)

Touch screen to make bubbles, touch bubbles to pop them.  Quite fun, not very exciting though so not worthy of a video review.


*  Yes, I have rounded her age up by two weeks.  Two weeks!!! :O :O

Weekly Photography Challenge - Week 31: Small

Oddly, I thought of the tiny chickens in my old Playmobil sets when I saw this topic.

I was also verrry tempted to take a photo of the tiny cutlery and plates from my hospital set, but they weren't as colourful. I'm quite proud that I managed to keep all the pieces though!

Tiny Chickens, originally uploaded by rattyree.

This photo is only a few days late!  *shock horror*  I still have several weeks to catch up on - photos that I want to take outside the house - but I haven't had a chance to go wandering with the camera lately. I hope to keep on top of things again now though, even if madam is keeping me extra busy with her newfound mobility!

Weekly Photography Challenge - Week 30: Texture

I love this hat that Mum crocheted for Alex.  It's so soft and snuggly it deserved a photo - especially as Alex refuses to wear hats now.  Bad baby.

Also: If anyone is stuck for things to buy me (any occasion will do - birthday, christmas, I'm just so awesome you can't resist, easter...), I'd LOVE a macro lens!

Crocheted Merino, originally uploaded by rattyree.

Weekly Photography Challenge - Week 29: Orange

The orange visor on Nev's Halo 3 Legendary Edition Master Chief Helmet.

Sadly the helmet isn't big enough to wear. ;)

Master Chief, originally uploaded by rattyree.

Weekly Photography Challenge - Week 27: Nighttime

Can't beat Wellington on a good day (night)!

This is by far my favourite photo from the weeks I've had to catch up on. Taken looking out over the city from Wadestown.

Wellington at Night, originally uploaded by rattyree.

Weekly Photography Challenge - Week 26: Distortion

Looking at some stripy fabric through a glass vase. Distortion achieved.

Through the looking vase, originally uploaded by rattyree.

Weekly Photography Challenge - Week 24: Shadow

Took a while for me to figure out what to photograph for this topic, but quite like the results.

3D Shadow, originally uploaded by rattyree.

Sick Babies are Sad Babies

Alex has had her first bad cold, which has been a bundle of fun I must say.  I feel terribly sorry for all of my friends who have sick bubbas, especially those busy catching their first ever round of daycare bugs!

In this past week I have learned many things, most of them gross:

• Baby noses produce epic amounts of snot despite being tiny and button-like
• Babies like to rub their snotty noses because no doubt they're itchy
• Snotty baby hands are sticky and collect many cat hairs from the carpet
• Babies would rather snuggle into your shoulder (aww) and snort boogers all over it (eww) than have you wipe their nose with a tissue
• Tissues are great for shredding
• And eating
• Karvol is great stuff (I daresay this is the only useful piece of information in this post)

Miss is over feeling ill, however has a residual runny nose and cough which means she grunts like a little piggy now when she's crawling.  I really shouldn't laugh at my little piggy motoring around the lounge but I am instead a horrible unsympathetic mother.

Adventures of Special Cat

Yesterday Mel came to visit with her gorgeous wee boy Ollie.  Unlike Alex (who is five days his senior) Ollie is a master crawler, so I thought it would be a good idea to put the baby gate up in the doorway to the room containing the cat litter trays.  It worked a treat - Alex happily sat in the lounge and watched Ollie crawl up the hallway and back again.

I left the gate up after they left, partly because Alex might all of a sudden get the urge to crawl into the spare room, partly because the cats may as well get used to it being there and partly because I'm lazy.  Mostly because I'm lazy.

Later in the afternoon I found Basil sitting in the hallway looking a bit sad.  So I picked him up and dropped him on the other side of the gate.  He seemed happy and went to sit on the windowsill so I carried on with what I had been doing.  When I came back 10 minutes later he was lying down against the baby gate again, but this time he was still in the spare room.  O...kay.  I picked him up and deposited him back in the hallway.

As I was getting ready for bed I found Basil lying on the spare room side of the baby gate again, so I threw a toy mouse past the door to see what he'd do.  Extreme front leg extension through the gate, but no hopping over it.  I fed Zari some of her new dental bikkies.  Basil got all excited, and his hunger greed eventually got the better of him and he hopped over.  

I went to bed last night, marvelling at the cat who could apparently scale a 6' tall fence to escape the courtyard or climb onto the roof of our house but couldn't manage a 60cm high wooden door barrier.  Little did I know he'd get a whole pile stupider this morning...

Alex and I were on the floor in the middle of the lounge while I changed her nappy when a brush-tailed Basil zoomed past.  Mrraaoooowwwww he howled, as he sped around the coffee table and bolted to the other end of the lounge.  This amused Alex.  He cornered, mrrraaaoooowwwed and took off for another lap.  Tail up, ears back, impressively nimble for one who "carries his weight well".   After completing his two laps of the lounge he zoomed past us again and headed down the hallway.  I thought he just had a case of the zoomies and carried on changing Alex.  

Then it hit me.  I could smell poo.  Cat poo.  So much stinkier than baby poo.   Oh good lord.  I held my breath and raced into the spare room to open the window and spied a cat-splat in the litter tray.  Upon returning to the lounge for some fresh (ish) air, I spotted some cat poo on my purse.  And some on the carpet next to it.  And some on the carpet by the coffee table.  Tiny potent gloopy stink bombs dotted around the lounge along the path Basil had just taken.  Wut.

I'll spare you the details of the cleanup process, but I have now concluded that Basil's thought process went something like this:  Ohmygod, my belly is rumbling!!!  Rumbling lots! I need to poo!!!  Ohgodohgodohgodohgod!!!!  There's something blocking the doorway to the litter trays!!  But I need to poo!!!  I can't get in!! Ohgodohgodohgod!!  Arrghhh!! *puff puff*  Arrrgghhhh!!!!

I have *the* most special cat.  And a shitty purse.